Apparently now a rare book, but still in a small class of books about this unique and amazing piece of aviation history. Although the Me 163 has since been well covered with better photographs and drawings, the Bachem 349 has still yet to be shown better. In particular, the Russian rocket fighter is shown in the only source I have ever found. A good history of the early work with rocket propelled aircraft. Biplanes with rockets!

It is hard to imagine any form of flight, much less aerial combat, which could be more startling and unique than a rocket fighter. The incredible danger and high fatality rate the test and operational pilots accepted to fly these aircraft is best understood by their comments; there was nothing better.

Rocket Fighter by William Green is book number twenty in the weapons series of Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War Two. It chronicles the wartime programs of Germany, the Soviet Union, and America to develop fighter aircraft which use a rocket engine as the prime mover. The development teams face extremely difficult design and construction problems in a time when manned atmospheric rocket flight was entirely unexplored, and mnanufacturing techniques were inadequate or did not exist. The account of failures and successes is an exciting story of learning and innovation. Though commercial and military aviation was ultimately revolutionized by turbojets, and not rocket research, which today remains inactive, the aircraft were still major technical accomplishments. That the aircraft with their poorly understood principles were made flyable at all was something of a miracle, resulting from the vision, ambition, and ingenuity of their designers.

The book follows the concept from its first serious consideration prior to World War II through the independent wartime efforts of the three countries mentioned, to Germany's desperate deployment of the Me 163/263. In addion to the better known projects, the author also describes some obscure lines of research, including miniature semi-expendable rocket aircraft in which the pilot lay prone. The results of the limited post-war Soviet and British efforts are also covered. A good memory is needed to follow the activities of the teams and the numerous prototypes as they are created, branch to new lines of development, or are shelved. This book is primarily a historical account, and technical details are not discussed in great depth.

In addition to testing and design work, the reader is told of political elements which had an effect on the progress of the work. Exigencies of war either cause the research to be delayed, or force the dangerous new means of propulsion to be pushed into production before it is ready. With test flights as the only means of evaluation, many brave pioneers are lost in horrific crashes and rocket fuel accidents.

This book is the story of the craft which now only appear in museums. The writing of this Ballantine series is excellent and each book presents its topic in an interesting, thorough and concice format. Those who want to learn about the work which produced this short-lived but spectacular aviation development, will find this enjoyable reading.

This is the best book on the subject of Rocket Propelled aircraft in World War 2 I've ever seen. Loads of info and superb photos and diagrams are execellent to say the least. The basic stuff like the Me-163 are covered, as well as some very interesting, not so well-known aircraft. If your interested in the subject, than this book is not to miss. It may be hard to find a copy though cause its old and its one of the more rare volumes in the Ballentines Ilustrated History Of World War 2 series.

Also reccomended: 'German Secret Weapons', 'Allied Secret Weapons'. Both titles are in the series, and they cover many interesting weaponry you won't find anywhere else.

In case [URL} is not sufficient, you can now get an additional dose in convenient paperback! The premise is enticing enough: secret, surprising and salacious documents - a veritable treasure chest of dirt, sleaze, and slime! Who could resist the temptation? But, if the reviews of other readers are the basis, I may be alone in finding "The Smoking Gun" boring and tedious. About as compelling, I guess, as reading unedited police reports and law suits - which is exactly what it is. I guess when it comes right down to it, I really don't find a letter from Sean "Puffy" Combs' doctor - as an excuse for a canceled tour - all that interesting. The contract Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman require their household help sign? Wow - how have I managed to live without knowing the extent of liabilities associated with release of Cruise/Kidman personal information, in detail by the type of media deployed! And the details of loser Parker Stevenson's alimony from estranged wife Kirstie Alley, insuring Stevenson continuance of their lavish life style? ("FAO Schwartz would keep a staff and the store open for two hours exclusively for Kirstie and me. We spared no expense, as we enjoyed our "private" shopping spree. Our FAO Schwartz jaunts would cost us approximately $15,000.") Um, fascinating, I guess?

I'll concede - the book has it moments. The last chapter, "Patently Absurd" includes some gems like the "human gas filter pad for wearing in the underwear" and a method for bar coding humans. And the "strap secured condom". Glad to see the US patent attorneys hard at work.

On balance, I should have realized that we're already overexposed to the excesses and absurdities of life in America - especially where celebrities are involved. The additional manifestation in raw legal documents, police reports, and court transcripts is simply more than I care about knowing, and frankly is not all that revealing, anyway.

Very fun to read, but many of the legal details in the documents aren't worth getting into, so each page only occupies your thoughts for a few seconds as you glace over it and notice a detail or two about it. Although this is a perfect coffee table flip-through-when-you're-killing-time book, it's all over a bit too soon.

If there's that one person on your Christmas list for whom it's impossible to buy a gift - say, your conspiracy-theorist, rubber-necking, fascinated-by-the-strange kind of friend - the search for the perfect present may be over. The Smoking Gun, a website dedicated to bringing people actual copies of government documents about celebrities and normal people involved in a variety of strange situations, released a "best-of" book, The Smoking Gun: A Dossier of Secret, Surprising, and Salacious Documents from the Files of the Smoking Gun. Chock-full of all kinds of dirt, human stupidity, and general hilariousness, this is exactly the book for the person who has "everything."

Want to know the details of Marilyn Monroe's autopsy? What about Martha Stewart's attempt to run down a gardener who refused to take her advice? The police report of the first officer on the scene of Kurt Cobain's suicide? President Nixon's background check from when he was thinking of joining the FBI? Tim Allen's sobriety test from 1997? The details of every attempt Dennis Rodman made to force himself on a woman? It's all here, in its original black-and-white glory, ready for your perusal.

Like a train wreck, you just can't tear your eyes away from The Smoking Gun's insane offering of all that makes our species better than the monkeys - or so we think, anyway. It's amazing, sick, and fascinating all at the same time. And, you've got the stocking stuffer for the person who has it all - because, chances are, they don't have Mike Tyson's arrest report. Just don't stay up all night reading it yourself.

Green Hell is bad history. Owens is a journalist not an historian and it shows. The book draws primarily on secondary sources and is riddled with the same errors that have plagued earlier works. Moreover, there are no maps. Owens solicited inputs from veterans and these accounts, when they appear in the book, are simply wonderful. Indeed, they're the only thing which raises this book to the level of mediocrity. If you want an accurate and informative work on the Guadalcanal campaign, read Richard B. Frank's book.

It was the most comprehensive book on Guadalcanal that I've ever read. As a World War II veteran, I really appreciated and related to Owen's coverage of personal stories. I still remember landing with the 35th Regiment and Division Hqs. of the 25th Division on December 17, 1942. Our Division released the first Marine Division. There were still two months of jungle fighting ahead for the army. The book so accurately recounted my experience of reducing the GIFU pocket and the Galloping Horse, plus several other strong points. We pushed the Japanese all the way back to Cape Esperance where they evacuated their troops over two nights in early February. Overall, this is certainly one of the best books I've read on this subject and would recommend it for history buffs, veterans and interested parties alike.

This book by Army Security Agency veteran Owens of the Korean War is like Audie Murphy's To Hell and Back. It's the story of people who'll live again, like General Lewis "Chesty" Puller, the most decorated Marine of World War II (also of the Korean War) who inspired his men by one of the most unusual philosophies in history - he fought alongside them. You'll find Marine Captain Joseph J. (Joe) Foss from Sioux Falls South Dakota who won the Medal of Honor and was the first aviator in World War II to exceed the record of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker in WWI and kept surviving his planes being shot down. You'll find Admiral Halsey here and the whole 1st Marine Division and the Second Marine Division and Army who relieved them later on and the Navy that lost so many men. You'll find Sergeant "Manila" John Basilone of Buffalo, New York, who did an "Audie Murphy" and won the Medal of Honor.

I've seen this book frequently used, along with Roberts-Heller-Ernest's Java 2 Certification Study Guide, to prepare for the SCJP. The following are some of its deficiencies:

- Includes more info than needed. Note that the definitive study guide to pass the SCJP was published by Roberts-Heller, who by the way DESIGNED THE SCJP, and comprehensively covers exam concepts. This book Exam Cram Java 2 however deems it necessary to include superfluous info NOT on the exam!! What a waste. I say to Mr. Brogden, "Stick only to topics on the exam and save some trees in the process." But then again, Mr. Brogden had no involvement in the development of the SCJP so he can only do so much...

- The amount of errors is unbelievable. I mean, what kind of Standards did the author / publisher use to proofread the text? For a book that attempts to teach / review concise Java 2 concepts, this book is replete with annoying errors - major and minor - that the user has to spend valuable time on published errata - which mind you is NOT a short list.

Mr. Brogden, you gotta be more professional than this, after all we - the test taking students - are not allowed to submit errata to Sylvan Prometrics once we have submitted our exams. You should seek to increase the accuracy of your work, for after all you do seek to help us get certified in the most efficient way possible, no?

It is certainly a very good book for SCJP. It is concise, easy to read and very exam-oriented. It should be the first book to read.

But it is not complete, the explanation is often too short and not detailed enough (comparing to the two books I list below), especially for inner classes, LayoutManager, java IO, Thread, etc. If you only want to pass the exam, this book may be good enough; if you really want to have solid knowledge of java fundamental, please read following books as well:

A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification by Khalid Azim Mughal, Rolf Rasmussen

The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide by Simon Roberts, Philip Heller, Michael Ernest

The above two books contain more info, some info are good to know, but unnecessary for the exam. They concentrate less on the exam than this book.

Start from this book and than read the other two books, read this book again (or just do the Practical Questions at the end of each chapter and Sample Test at the end of the book) before the real exam. Read the Cram Sheet at the beginning of the book one hour before the exam. And you will pass.

Good luck!

I just passed the test with an 85 and this book was my main test preparation source for the Java Programmer's Exam. I had programmed in C years before and was looking to sharpen my technical skills with a forefront technology like Java. After doing a Sun CBT to learn Java and practicing up, I used this book to learn what tricks I needed to know to pass the exam. It's small enough to read thoroughly and it does an excellent job of reinforcing the "gotcha's" you need to know to pass the test. The sample test in the back is a great representation of the questions on the test, but the questions on the book's web site will be very familiar once you take the test in the book. The good thing about the web site is that it links you to other sources of more sample tests - and there are plenty out there. Although this book is not a definitive language reference, it really does prepare you for the exam.

This book has hundreds of color profiles (and some top views) of warplanes from WWI to 1980. There's a brief introduction about the history of markings, but after that the text is limited to a brief introduction about each plane type and descriptions of markings. In addition to the full color profile views are some close-ups of unit markings and badges of individual planes. More than 100 planes are included, many on double-page spreads.

However, planes that are NOT SHOWN but should have been include: postwar Navy fighters (none are included, except a single side view of a "Jolly Rogers" Navy Phantom), the USAAF P-51D (although one is shown on the cover, none appear inside), the B-29, F-14, F-15, F/A-18, F-86, F-101, F-102, F-104, F-105, F-106, F-117, modern MiGs and Sukhois (last included are MiG-23 and Su-7), Harriers (again, on the cover but not inside), Skyraiders, Typhoons, Tempests, Vampires, Jaguars, Catalinas, Aircobras, A-4, A-10, pre-WWII bombers, postwar bombers (no B-1B, B-2, B-47, B-52, B-58, Vulcans, Victors, Blinders, Bears) C-46, C-47, C-5, C-97 C-124, C-135, and C-130. Also, no helicopters are included.

So, a pretty good overview at a great price, but many important types are missing.

Hi,
I repaint a lot of planes for Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator series as a hobby and have found this book an excellent source of reference for specific colours of planes and their squadrons in relation to a specific time period. Though the time period ends over 20 years ago, and some plates are dedicated to planes of lesser known manufactures, and a lot of the color plates can be found in comparible books by David Mondey, overall, it is good value.

This large book is packed with colorful drawings of aircraft from WW2 to 1981. The book features 113 aircraft presented in a variety of color schemes, usually in profile but occationally from the overhead perspective. As a modeler I use this book when painting miniature aircraft. The book is 207 pages long. There is minimal text. The text includes a brief introduction, then continues by briefly explaining each of the illustrations.

this book is directed towards high school students preparing to take mathematics competetion such as the CMC and IPO. the book contains 100 thinking skills math question with solutions. Being a high school student (with a huge intrest for math) i was able to solve 71 problems, but i must admit that i really did face ALOT of problems solving some of them.(wait till you see the solution for question #5, #8, #41 and 46 Recomended to any high school student prepared to sit any exam or have an intrest for pure thinking skills math qestions, but if you are looking for something REALLY hard then you best look somewhere else...

This weird titled book contains 100 mathematical problems. Most of the problems in the book require high school level mathematics.... Personally I - a high school student- found no difficulty solving 71 problems in the book. Unfortunately a good number of the problems in the book, I have seen in other mathematical problem books. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the problems in the book. The book is targeted to those students preparing to take math competition such as ILO and the CMC. The solution of the problem are clearly outlined and I had no difficulty following them...wait till you see the solution for problems #21, #41, #42 and #90... I strongly recommend this to high school student interested in mathematics, if you are looking for something REALLY REALLY hard you could well steer away from this book and find something harder...

The Green book of Mathematical Problems is definitely a great book. It contains challenging brainteasers that will be of interest to anyone interested in undergraduate-level mathematical problems dealing with real numbers, differential equations, integrals, polynomials, sets and other mathematical topics. This book offers a selection of 100 problems with hints and solutions. The hints are very helpful and the solutions are easy to follow. The book isn't expensive. So it's a good choice.

Barnett's book is an easy and enjoyable-to-read text on a subject that could easily become dry and uninteresting. Well-written and thought provoking, Barnett has done a good job of helping the reader come into the historical situation of first-century Jews and Jesus. He gives insightful commentary and well documented evidence of the atrocious behavior of King Herod, known in the Gospels as the killer of the Bethlehem infants. After reading Barnett's analysis one realizes Herod was totally capable of such a travesty. He also gives a good background to the parables of Christ, showing how Jesus' choice of topics blended well with the his small-town rural background.

Well done and I think, a quick read. Should be helpful to anyone wanting to understand the historical background of the New Testament more fully.

This book tells about how Pickett, the oldest of 13 children, invented his technique of catching a steer by the horns, twisting its head up, and clamping its upper lip with his teeth until the steer toppled over. Pickett went on to become the first African-American to be inducted into the National Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. This story was very inspiring to me. I enjoyed reading about Pickett's life and the illustrations were wonderful as well. The author chose to write this book to inspire people (children). It is defiantly written for struggling readers but would keep a fluent reader very entertained. This would be a great book to use to do a lesson on Black History month.

With a title like "The Juror", and a blurb by Scott Turow (Presumed Innocent) on the cover, I was expecting a legal drama/thriller, which this book isn't.

The characters of Annie and the Teacher are good, but the one you identify with is Slavko Czernyk, and there isn't enough of this guy in the book ..

A word about the Teacher - Turow compared this character to Hannibal Lecter, saying "The Teacher makes Hannibal seem like a vegetarian." I don't think it's fair to compare these two villains, since they are two different kinds of villains that evoke different emotions from the reader. Hannibal evokes fear, you are scared of Lecter. While the Teacher evokes anger, you aren't scared of him but you simply hate him. So while both these villains are great, it isn't fair to compare them ..

Overall, Green is a passionate writer & this book is worth a read. But don't expect a lot of courtroom scenes and legal stuff (like in Grisham's and Turow's books), this is a good thriller with quite a lot of action (especially towards the end).

The Juror is a story of a mafia kingpin's trial and the hell it causes for a single mother named Annie Laird. She lives at home with her son, sculpts all night and works as a clerk all day. One day she is selected as a prospective juror for the most famous case in the land. She wants some excitement in her life, so she agrees. Soon her life is twisted upside down by a seductive, powerful man known as the Teacher. She must vote to acquit the mob boss if she wants her friends and son to live. The story doesn't end with the trial. The Teacher still wants her after it is over, and when she betrays him, he wants blood. The reason this book is so good is because of its characters. You can feel the characters resonating off the page. The Teacher with his reserved fury, Annie and her fear and determination. The book grabs you in. It is not perfect, it has a couple of tedious and repetitious sexual references and passages. Anyway, this is a powerful book, and very plausible. Very original. Check it out.

George Dawes Green, The Juror (Warner, 1995)

George Dawes Green wrote The Caveman's Valentine, which netted him the Edgar. He then followed it up with the euqally acclaimed The Juror, and proceeded to drop off the face of the earth, foiling a carefully-plotted career as a bestselling mystery novelist. Go figure. Based on the quality of his first two books, a whole lot of folks wish he'd come back.

Green's second novel introduces us to The Teacher, a part-time mob enforcer, Taoist, and grower of rare orchids whose present job entails tampering with a jury to make sure his part-time employer doesn't go to jail. Problem is, the Teacher starts getting emotionally involved the the juror, and the two of them end up doing a rather dysfunctional dance that ends up with a whole lot of people dying.

It's an absorbing novel, and a quick read. The characters are strongly drawn and identifiable, and the plot is excellently paced. The book's main flaw is that it relies a bit much on coincidences (of the "of all the gin joints in the world..." variety) that stretch credibility too far. But mystery novels rely on coincidence, and so we have to be willing to forgive Green in order to bask in the luxury of his writing. And it is certainly worth forgiving him, as the characters he creates here will be with you long after you turn the last page. *** 1/2

As a younger person in the nineties, I dipped into the plays of Shakespeare, and this book let me get into the classic stuff. It was interesting, put into kids' stories so as not to intimidate the younger enthusiast, and altogether, it was a good book. I suppose you have to be in to Shakespeare to enjoy it wholly though....

A gentle, relaxing dip into Shakespeare. I'll give two stars.

Tales from Shakespeare was one of the few books that attracted me by its title. I've heard a lot about William Shakespeare, however, I never really got to listen or read his stories. I think they're really special because everyone knows who he is and they say his stories are wonderful.
In this book, there are many, many stories, so I decided to read two of them I was interested in: ¡¥The Tempest¡¦ and ¡¥A Midsummer Night's Dream¡¦. But I'll only tell you about The Tempest.
The Tempest was the first story of the book. It was about a man and his daughter, Miranda, a young girl living on an island with spirits, and no other humans. However, before they decided to side there, there lived before them, a witch name Sycorax. She prisoned all the good spirits, including the leader, Ariel. When Miranda's father decided to side on the island, he defeated Sycorax, and Ariel, as the head of all good spirits promised to serve Miranda's father in any way he can.
As Miranda grew older, she became more beautiful. Her father thought that it was time for her to get married. He sent Ariel to carry Fernando, a prince to marry his daughter. At first, he was so angry at Miranda's father for doing such a thing, but once he saw Miranda, he decided to marry her. As they were getting married, Miranda's father had some revenge on his brother.
What I like about this book is that, Shakespeare has a lot of good ideas.
What I dislike about this book, is that, his stories are too confusing for me to understand. And every time I finish a story, I don't see the point of it.
But I really enjoy reading his stories though.

Although this book is written for children it is great for all ages and is great to get the basic story line before you go to a play. I read most of the plays in this book (I have not yet read all of them) when I was 11. Now that I have been reading the actual plays of Shakespeare I always start by reading the short version of the play in this book and than read the actual play. I can understand what is going on much better that way. I also recommend "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children" by Edith Nesbit which gives about ten page versions of each story verses the thirty pages per story in this book and also has a smaller vocabulary which makes it better for younger children.